Your Kids: The Environmentalists’ New Pawn

No doubt you have seen the coverage of climate change activists yelling in the streets, blocking traffic and condoning school absences. Although, I suppose that last one is okay. I mean, why go to school when we’ll all be dead in a few years anyway, right? And nothing makes a better sound bite or video clip than kids marching, waving signs and giving public tirades – I mean, speeches.

The hand that rocks the cradle

You have also heard, I assume, the old adage: the hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world. Well, here is a first-hand view of just how true and powerful that adage is. Do you want to cause a commotion? Do you want to get attention? Line up the kids behind you. It worked for the Pied Piper of Hamelin. You hate the fossil fuel industry and need a fast, cheap way to take them down? Go for the kids. Perhaps, though, they overshot their plan just a bit. We now have children being diagnosed with “eco-anxiety” and “climate grief.” These have the same symptoms as clinical anxiety and grief, but they are caused solely by parents, news media, social media and teachers that continually chant the world is doomed, and therefore they are doomed. 

Do you remember when your kids were raised being told they were special and unique, a gift to the world? Now, children are being told the planet is dying because of humans. They are human. The planet is dying because of them. Hmmm. I wonder why kids these days seem angry and depressed, must be those darn video games. Wake up, and smell the eco-anxiety, people! 

The time to fight is now

I have heard enough about climate change and the horrible industry that is causing it. Let’s hear now from the energy industry — what does it have to say for itself? Let’s listen. Do you hear that? Me neither; I hear nothing but the soft chirp of doomed crickets. Crude oil and natural gas have made this planet great. And now it’s time to push back — hard. It’s time to take their junk science and refute it. Invite the climate scientists (who would be out of a job if there were no climate change to combat) to debates. Poke big, gaping holes in their sails. The science backs up the fossil fuel industry. You’ve got it — so flaunt it! Afraid no one will like you if you’re aggressively defensive? I’ve got some news for you. 

Rolling over and showing the soft underbelly of your sideline wind turbines and solar farms, isn’t going to cut it. Those things are great, and in their place work wonderfully, but look at Germany. The only thing that is going to keep this old world spinning for the people who live on her is the fossil fuels she has provided. Countless lives have been saved because of reliable energy. Make it known, and here’s how…

 Take a page from their book and go for the kids. Don’t just calmly ramble on about how everything they use, need and hold dear arrives at their door by way of the fossil fuel industry. Shout it! Bang a few pots and pans together. Environmentalists are loud; it’s time for the oil and gas industry to be louder. Give the Google junkies something to look up, like some actual quotes from their leaders. How about this treat: Bill McKibben believes we should severely ration fossil fuels. Let the kids see the picture he has in mind for them. I don’t think they’ll like it when he says:

…each human being would get to produce 1.69 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually — which would allow you to drive an average American car nine miles a day. If you carpooled, you’d have about three pounds of CO2 left in your daily ration – enough to run a highly efficient refrigerator. Forget your computer, your TV, your stereo, your stove, your dishwasher, your water heater, your microwave, your water pump, your clock. Forget your lightbulbs, compact fluorescent or not. 

Do they know this is what they are really marching for, a return to the dark ages — literally? Come on, oil and gas industry, tell them. Enough trying to play nice. It hasn’t worked before, and it isn’t working now. They rang the bell, and you need to come out swinging.On that note, I invite you to join our organization — the Texas Energy Advocates Coalition. We are a group of pro-energy citizens with the goal of sharing our support of the energy industry. This group consists of business owners, community members, leaders, energy industry employees, and more. You don’t need a scientist to tell you our lives are made better by the energy industry. Show your support and join for free!